The Fire In You
by White Ogre
Summary: -AU- If they are smart enough, they will figure out the puzzle and perform one every sunset, but if not, they'll probably be locked in there in a never-ending maze. It isn't that hard though, what's written on the heads are easy enough: friendship, promise, wish, betrayal, kiss, secret, and death. And who knows what else could be waiting... [DISCONTINUED]
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

**The Fire In You  
**

_This is a random idea. I don't know if any of you will like this, but I'll upload it anyway. I kinda like the thought of this one, I even had a lot of fun writing it. And yes, there will be romance, probably the same couples with Unas Damas, but I'm still not sure. _

**Warning: This is not "beta-ed" as I am just trying out something. I'm not sure whether I'll continue this also. But it's nice to experiment sometimes. This may be a common read for you, but it is something new to me, so ... **

**Please enjoy!**

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Don't difficult situations light a fire in you?

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**Chapter 1 (Story Introduction)  
**

Some call it the Temple of the Youth, and some, The Seat of Vigor. It is a huge structure that stood majestically in the upper west side of Mt. Tikkla. The mountain spreads from East to West, surrounding the City of Lobarro which is currently booming with economic advancements. More and more tourists are visiting the area and it is getting competitive with other highly developed attraction destinations. In an attempt to be globally competent, the Press Information Office sent their On-the-Job trainees to gather more information regarding adventure and tourism. They were to study possible attraction sites that could be developed and enhanced by the government for tourism purposes and was given nine weeks to hand in all the information they gathered in an audio/video format. The interns were given a list of areas that should be covered in their project. The list was based on a research that was made twelve years ago by a group of six people who used to be interns in the same office. Only two came back and the research was dropped instantly with neither of them saying a word. The government conducted secret investigations, but never once succeeded. Eventually, the case was dropped as well. This, however, was never opened to the new interns.

"They don't have to know." the department head injected, a woman in her fifties but still looked like in her twenties; big breasts, bossy, and short-tempered. She's also a gambler, which is probably why she doesn't have any problem risking another team.

~O~

The list revealed 6 zones: a flower farm, a waterfall, twin lakes, a river, a cave and the last one which was only a question mark. They were provided with an old passenger van ideal for rough roads, a camera man, a driver, and a guide.

One of the interns was Tenten, a slim brunette with brown eyes who wears her hair in an oddly fashion—two buns. "I'm not going to do this." she said, glaring at her fellow interns while they were discussing the project, "The reason why I applied here is because I want to work in an office setting." she went on, "And now you're telling me that we have to go mountain climbing and do some silly exploration stuff in front of a camera for a promotional ad material? That is bullshit." She is adventurous actually, but having things thrown at her without pretty much listening to what she has to say about it, pissed her off. She wanted to write articles about news that happened within the office, not some advertising crap about trees and rivers and _'where to go in Lobarro if you're hungry for adventure!' _she mimicked in her head with an eye roll.

"Why don't you just shut up and cooperate? We're tasked to do this, and it's not like we have much of a choice." snapped one of them in reply. Sakura Haruno, a bright girl with shoulder length pink hair. She strictly follow rules and often reads a lot. Sakura was excited when she was informed that she's one of the interns tasked to do the promotional ad. She had read and known everything there has to know about Mt. Tikkla. She looked at the girl beside her with a gleam in the eye then looked away and smiled to herself thinking, _'I'm gonna write the best article. Something that I can brag throughout my senior year.' _

Ino Yamanaka frowned and raised her eyebrow and looked back at the girl next to her, flipping her long blond hair in the process, _'Who does she think she is? Heh. Isn't she too full of herself? It is me who's going to write a revelation.' _The competitive look in her blue eyes is enough to make any of her enemy nervous.

The girl seated across them wiped her sweaty hands on her leggings. Hinata Hyuuga was really happy when she got accepted as an intern in the office. It has always been her dream to be heard by the masses. She wants to speak her mind thru writing. To be one of the interns made her feel like she's got what it takes, but when she saw those two confident ladies in front of her, she started doubting herself again.

They are not friends, and they absolutely don't like the idea of being put together to do something they completely don't have a clue about. But just like what Sakura said, it's not like they have much of a choice. Their On-the-Job experience could either be a blessing or a curse.

~O~

The flower farm is owned by a couple who never seemed to experience joint pains and aging despite their old age. The waterfall was located in the deeper part of the forest where people no longer live. People avoided that place because despite its beauty, danger was also present. The twin lakes was located on the other end of the mountain, the water current of each flows in opposing directions. The river on the other hand had a depth that hadn't been measured yet. Then the cave; it has seven chambers, only two were entered by the group of employees that were first sent out with the same project. The last, the question mark, is The Temple of the Youth, The Seat of Vigor or whatever the locals in the mountainous areas may call it. It was created by a private organization twenty-eight years ago for tourism purposes as well, but the construction of it was stopped halfway. The entrance was a mouth of an enormous gold plated dragon, it slopes upward into a temple gate. On top of the gate was a sculpture of an angel crouching down on one knee, a long sword on his one hand, a shield on the other, and his wings opened as if anytime he was ready to attack. The ground around the temple was vast enough to park three hundred cars or more. Statues of gods and goddesses are littered around along with piles of cement, rocks and steel bars. The temple stood mighty in the left area with thirty surrounding pillars and seven gold plated lion statues. On the middle was a dried out fountain with a sculpture of a lady smiling with her fingers folded on her lap. The sun sets exactly on the temple, and the sight before it was an overlooking view of the city. The temple was both eerie and beautiful, however, once a group enters, there is only one thing to do in order for them to get out. Each lion head had an inscription on it which must be done. If they are smart enough, they will figure out the puzzle and perform one every sunset, but if not, they'll probably be locked in there in a never-ending maze.

It isn't that hard though, what's written on the heads are easy enough: friendship, promise, wish, betrayal, kiss, secret, and death.

And who knows what else could be waiting...

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**Thanks for reading!  
Let me know what you think. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

**The Fire In You**

**Warning: I don't proofread. Not "beta-ed" or something like that... **

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We're attracted to people who are interesting and mysterious.

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**Chapter 2 (Careful Steps) **

They sat on the waiting area of the Press Information Office trying their hardest to ignore each other as much as possible. The competition about the promotional ad dawned on them and they started to hate each other even more. Only one would be hired in the end, which means it's not a win-win situation to either of the four of them.

"Excited?" Ino asked them. She was seated comfortably on one of the couches, her legs and arms crossed.

"Can't you find an even better word?" Sakura retorted.

Ino smirked, "Alright… Scared?" she asked again.

"Would you stop?" Tenten snapped. She was slouching on the other end of the couch, a pillow on her stomach.

Ino rolled her eyes, "Great, people. We haven't even started yet and you're already sucking out all the fun."

Hinata remained quiet the entire time. She knew she would surely get in trouble if she opened up her mouth and end up saying the wrong things. She sighed and absentmindedly brushed her hair with her fingers.

When the atmosphere started to suffocate them, the department head finally showed up. "Alright team," she said in an awfully fake cheerful tone, "It's time for you to head out." She ushered them to stand up and get going, "Come on, the rest of the crew is waiting for you outside."

Tenten frowned. She stood admitting defeat and threw the pillow she was using at Ino's face.

"What the hell?" Ino exclaimed, standing up almost immediately.

"Sorry, my hand slipped." Tenten replied dryly before grabbing her backpack from the floor.

"Careful next time…" Sakura drawled, sending a wink at Tenten's direction.

Ino scoffed and rolled her eyes.

The four of them followed Tsunade out and gaped when she led them to an old van.

"Will that get us to the mountain and back in perfect shape?" Ino asked, dropping her things on the cemented ground.

"Sure it will." said a guy about the same age as they are. He walked over and stretched out an open palm, "I'm Kiba Inuzuka, guide." Ino stared at his hand, and then a huge white dog came out behind the van making her step back in fright. "Why is that here? Get that away from me."

Hinata stepped up and shook Kiba's hand instead, "Nice to meet you, I'm Hinata Hyuuga."

Kiba grinned, "Hello." He shifted his gaze back at Ino and glared, "That's my dog Akamaru. We need him to find our way in the mountain."

"Oh I see." Ino stared at the dog weirdly, "I'm Ino Yamanaka."

"Um, excuse me."

Kiba looked passed Ino towards Tenten.

"Are you also the driver?" Tenten asked.

Kiba shook his head. "My friend Shino Aburame, he's already inside the van. He's not very good at socializing."

"Okay, I'm Tenten by the way."

"Sakura Haruno." Sakura chimed in, obviously not interested with the introductions.

Tsunade sighed as she massaged her temples, "Can you get them all in the van already so you brats can get going? I still have a lot of proposals to go through and this hassle is just making my day worse."

"Okay everyone!" someone called out from the van, "Get in, get in." The guy had a bowl cut hairstyle with weirdly thick eyebrows. He grinned and hopped out to help them with their bags. When all their things were set, the girls got in the van. Kiba sat on the passenger seat, followed by Ino and Sakura on the second, Hinata and Tenten on the next, and Lee on the back with Akamaru since he needs to take some shots. Beside Lee is a guy with fiery red hair, pale skin, other things that are too noticeable with him is his heavy eyeliner and tattoo on his forehead.

Lee grinned when he saw the girls looking at the guy beside him weirdly. "This is Gaara, he's the somewhat director." He tapped Gaara's shoulder, "He knows which angles to take to make the shots perfect."

"Right…" Sakura said before focusing her attention back on the road.

Gaara didn't even acknowledge them; he put on his headphones and looked out the window.

"Wow, this is gonna be so fun." Tenten said in a voice rich with sarcasm. "I can sense it already."

~O~

The ride to their first destination took them six hours. Shino parked the van on the road side; he was wearing protective glasses and a mask for whatever purpose it might serve him.

"We're here everybody!" Kiba said cheerfully, looking over his shoulder.

Hinata gently tapped Tenten's shoulder, "Miss Tenten…" she said quietly. She had fallen shamelessly asleep on Hinata's shoulder.

The guys got out of the van instantly. Gaara placed his headphones around his neck and instructed Lee to start focusing on the clouds and then slowly zoom out to get the view of the sloping hill. Kiba examined the area with Akamaru following him around, while Shino remained in the driver's seat. "Go out. I'll watch your things." he said.

Ino raised her eyebrow, "How thoughtful of you."

Sakura took her cross over bag and hopped out of the car.

Ino harshly tapped Tenten's shoulder, "Hey wake up!" she yelled, startling her.

Tenten rubbed her still sleepy eyes and glared up at Ino, who just ignored her and joined Sakura and Kiba.

Tenten looked apologetically at Hinata, "Really sorry."

"It's okay, I fell asleep too." she responded with a smile.

They took their cross over bags, the ones provided by the office, and went out to join the others. The sun was beating down on them, but the wind was cold.

Kiba scrunched up his forehead as he placed a hand over his eyes, "Looks like we're gonna have to climb up girls." he said.

"What?" they all asked in disbelief.

"Well, the flower farm's way up there." Kiba reasoned, making them only sigh in defeat.

"Oh, just brilliant!" Lee spoke enthusiastically, "My outfit is perfect for mountain trekking, and I'll surely be able to take fantastic shots with this." He stretched and moved about, modeling his green spandex to everyone. "I brought enough for everyone."

Tenten stared at him in disgust, "No, thank you."

"But it's so easy to move around in it," Lee insisted, "Come on, try it for just a minute."

"Oh brother…" Sakura muttered under her breath. "This is going to be a wonderful journey."

"Okay enough with the weird and depressing stuff." Kiba butted in, laughing awkwardly, "Let's just start walking up the trail instead. Shino will stay in the van, no need to worry about your belongings." he finished off with a suggestive smile. Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Yes, I think we should." Hinata agreed, tying her hair in a loose braid.

They all looked at each other and noticed someone was missing.

~O~

Ino took out her phone from the front pocket of her pants. She thought about calling her mother, and as she looked at it, a frown formed on her forehead followed by a displeased noise. "You've got to be kidding me. How can there be no signal at such a high place?" She looked back to her group who were busily observing the environment. She silently sneaked away determined to do a phone call.

"Come on, come on." Ino urged, raising her phone up in the air, "Just one bar."

She sighed in exasperation and turned around to go back to the group when she noticed that she had gone away quite farther than she thought she had. For all she knew, she only walked and turned on a nearby path then climbed a few steps up the hill.

Ino looked around again. She couldn't be mistaken, the area turned into a completely different surrounding. "Guys?" she called out. No one answered. Her eyebrows furrowed and huge pools of sweat boiled from her skin as she turned her head from one direction to another.

She started to walk back on her tracks, but it was no use, she couldn't retrace it anymore. Closing her eyes briefly and looking up at the trail before her, she readjusted her cross-over bag and started climbing.

Soon, Ino reached a plain, and it was by far one of the best sights she has ever seen. There were rows and rows of flowers of any kind and color that the scene itself is like how people stereotyped paradise to be.

She ran her hands along the yellow daffodils, suddenly missing home. She remembered how she used to describe her home when she was little, "It is where the flowers are…" she said softly, eyes downcast.

"My, my, loving the view are we?" she spun and saw an old woman with fully blossomed lavenders on her left arm.

Ino stepped forward and cleared her throat, "Hello, ma'am. Uhh, I think I'm lost…"

The old woman tilted her head to the side, a small smile playing on her lips, "Lost? How can you be lost? I'm quite sure you are looking for this farm."

"No," Ino shook her head, "I mean, I was with a group of people a while ago and I only walked a few steps away, but when I turned back, it felt like I'm in an entirely different location."

A chuckle erupted from the old woman's mouth as she dropped her carefully picked flowers. Her eyes dulled and her face was replaced by an expression of pure bitterness. She walked over to Ino grasping her arms tightly, stopping her from stepping away.

"Let go of me." Ino hissed.

The old woman only smiled sickly at her, and in a dead voice she said, "I once fell in love. I gave him my whole heart, but he left me. He left me! I prayed to the gods and offered them year rounds of blossoming harvest just so he would come back. But he never did!" She laughed hysterically and gripped her arms tighter, "He's here. He's here! I can feel it in my bones that he's here."

Ino twisted her harm and managed to break free. The old woman's eyes grew wide as she reached out for her arm again. Ino ran across the field, stepping over some flowers that pained her to death, but the thought of getting away from the creepy old woman was far stronger than her love for flowers.

When it looked like she finally outran the old woman, a shadow loomed over causing her to shiver. She stopped and looked around, feeling someone's eyes on her.

Desperation clouded her thoughts and she felt frozen in time—she can't move, she can't scream for help, she can't react. The only thing she could do is choke down a sob. Then like a strong outside force, she felt herself being turned. Closing her eyes briefly, she slowly opened them to find a man standing a few feet opposite from her. Lean body, dark brown hair tied in a high ponytail, piercing eyes and strong jaw. He was looking straight at her, making her breath hitch in her throat. He was young, as young as she was. He took a step forward and Ino gasped when she mirrored his action.

He appeared to be examining her as they both stepped closer to each other.

"You're lost." he said with a smirk.

She was captivated. She barely knew the guy and there was no trace of human in him, but she couldn't look away—couldn't move. She wasn't sure if it was by her own will or if it was his doing.

Ino sensed a snap in her body and she no longer felt encumbered. She started breathing normally again, but she still couldn't move, especially when the guy reached out and stroked her cheek gently. "You're young." he said, eyes never leaving hers.

She slapped his hand away and ran from him as fast as she could. She looked back and tripped when all she saw was an empty space. Pushing herself up, she saw the old woman walking fast towards her with eyes bloodshot wide and tears dripping down her face. She knelt beside Ino and whispered, "I was once young too…"

She screamed and stood hurriedly, running off to wherever her shaking legs would take her. She stumbled over some wild grass and bushes, and then a rush of bright light flashed before her.

"Ino?!"

~O~

"Ino?!" Tenten turned her around by the shoulders, "You've been standing there like a statue and we've been calling for you over and over. What the hell?"

"Huh?" Ino blinked, looking at her surroundings again. Everyone was looking at her worriedly and Akamaru kept on barking. "I was just looking for some signal." she managed to let out. Letting her eyes travel to her right hand where she was clutching her phone, but she was surprised when she saw a yellow daffodil instead. She threw it away immediately, "So what's up?" she asked.

"We were looking for you!" Sakura butted in, crossing her arms and a frown gracing her quite big forehead.

"Well I am here now aren't I? So let's go." she snapped, still trying to ease down the painful pounding on her chest.

Tenten let go of her shoulders and jumped off to where Kiba directed them. She frowned and followed them lifelessly. _'Was I just hallucinating?' _ She bit her lip and looked up at the hill.

"Ino!" Sakura yelled, making her jump.

"Coming!" Ino replied as she ran over to them.

~O~

Hinata wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead as she pressed her lips into a thin line. Walking up the sloping hill is harder than she thought. Even though the trail made it easier for them to get to their destination, the place is still pretty undeveloped. The trail was made by the local residents for working purposes. Wild grasses are growing along the sides of the trail, allowing Hinata and the others to hold onto it when they felt like slipping down.

"Are you okay?" Kiba asked, looking back at Hinata worriedly.

Hinata faked a smile and gave him an "okay" signal with her hand. She got a nod from him and he started walking again using only his leg muscles. Hinata almost felt a pang of jealousy at him; he made the excursion look so effortless while she was practically crawling her way up. She looked down at her dirty hands and sighed, _'I hope I can make it, I really don't want them to worry over me or take me as someone who needs assistance…' _ Hinata stepped on a rock with her right foot and used her left foot to push her up while she grabbed onto a branch of a small plant for support.

"Be careful…" she suddenly heard.

She blinked and furrowed her brows, there's no one else with her. The others are already way above her, she was the last one behind and the voice was so soft it felt like a whisper from the wind.

"I don't want you to fall…" said the same voice again, giving her goose bumps.

Hinata jerked her head to the side and silently gasped when she saw a pair of electric blue eyes staring right through her. She felt herself tremble at the cold sensation rising up her spine. He's got whiskers on each side of his cheek and his soft blonde hair appeared golden under the sun. He grinned brightly at her, "Be careful." he said again before he leaned into her and blew a cold breath on her ear. She blushed and the small branch she held onto snapped, making her lose her balance and fall.

Hinata screamed, closing her eyes for the impact, but it didn't come. She opened her eyes and saw Gaara gripping her arm, "I got you." he said reassuringly. He pulled her up and looked at her closely. "You spaced out."

"I…" her voice shook. She wiped her soiled hands on her jeans and cleared her throat, "I saw something." she said in a small voice.

"You mean that fox?" Gaara asked.

"Fox?"

"Yes." Gaara pointed over to their right, "It ran off that way."

Hinata nodded uncertainly, "Yes, yes, it was the fox." She shyly looked up at him, "Thank you."

Gaara kept his eyes on her as if he was about to say something.

"What is it?" Hinata asked.

Gaara shook his head and looked away, "Nothing. Let's go." He turned and started walking.

Hinata looked to her side again, wondering if what she saw was just because of the scorching heat of the sun. A thought crossed her mind making her feel cold all over. She heard rumors about people getting lost in the mountain and never found again. She looked up at her group, Sakura and Tenten laughing when Lee skidded down, Gaara slowly catching up, Ino lost in her own world, Kiba looking over for easier tracks and Akamaru wagging his tail as he playfully looked at Kiba. A numb feeling slowly grew in her chest, her heartbeat deafeningly loud, _'Will we all survive?'_

~O~

**Thanks for reading!**


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